


Renegade Drabbles

by RobotCryBaby



Category: G.I. Joe: Renegades
Genre: Fluff, Fluff and Humor, Gen, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Team as Family
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-04
Updated: 2020-07-07
Packaged: 2021-03-01 00:22:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,159
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23016211
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RobotCryBaby/pseuds/RobotCryBaby
Comments: 6
Kudos: 27





	1. Chapter 1

His world was not silent, but he existed encased within the quiet and behind the mask. He had no words to offer and no one asked them of him either. He was a shadow, flitting in and out of people’s lives, leaving them in an uncomfortable silence. He was an asset, someone to help when all hell broke loose. Beyond his skills as a ninja, he didn’t have much to offer, especially in a team capacity.

He was there for Shana. She had asked for his help, and like every time before and after, he came to her aid. Now she was on the run with the rest of the Joes, and like always he stayed by her side. 

He’s lived most of his life running from one thing or another, with Shana at his side for the past few years; but it was no longer just Snake Eyes and Shana. Now it was the Joes, a team; one he knew he could never be a part of.

He made sure to keep his distance, both literally and figuratively. He knew his presence amongst the Joes wasn’t unwelcome, but he was only trusted because Shana was there, because they trusted Shana. And she trusted him.

He was there for Shana, but it wasn’t long before he was looking out for the Joes just as much. When would he realize that the team sees the silent ninja just as much a part of the team as the rest of them?

  
  


The Coyote pulled up to a small diner in another backwater town too small to even show up on most maps. The large truck grinded to a halt on the empty side-street, the air brakes releasing the built up pressure. Roadblock stepped out the driver’s side door, loudly popping his back and stretching his sore muscles.

“Man, I could really use some grub.”

“Agreed. Let’s get some chow then hit the road as soon as we can.” Duke stepped out of the Coyote, taking charge of the situation as usual. 

Tunnel Rat loudly pushed past both soldiers, rushing towards the diner looking extremely pale. “Come on, come on, outta the way!” He disappeared into the diner, the soft bell tinkling above. Scarlett stepped out of the truck next, shaking her head and watched her teammates grumble to each other as they made their way to the old building.

Roadblock turned back to the truck, just as he was about to walk away. “Hey Snakes, you com-” Snake Eyes was nowhere to be found, as was typical for the ninja, though it didn’t quell the concern the larger man felt for his silent companion. He made sure to lock up the Coyote and joined the rest of the Joes.

  
  


They occupied a corner booth of the restaurant, Scarlett and Duke sitting opposite each other with Tunnel Rat perched awkwardly in a chair off to the side. Roadblock settled beside Scarlett, relaxing into the old plastic cushion.

“Does that dude ever eat?” he asked as he stared out the window, looking for any sign as to where Snake Eyes had slithered off to.

“Who dude?” Tunnel Rat scoffed loudly.

Roadblock turned and scowled at him. “Snake Eyes dude.”

“Come to think of it, he does always seems to disappear just as we’re about to stop somewhere.” Duke wondered aloud.

“Snake Eyes is more than capable of taking care of himself.” Scarlett chided the boys, taking a sip from the glass of water in front of her.

“Yeah but, he shouldn’t have to, right?” Roadblock looked to his teammates expectantly, all remained quiet.

  
  


They quickly finished their meal and headed back to the Coyote, still with no sign of Snake Eyes. Everyone had already clambered in and buckled up when a knocking stopped them from taking off. Duke got up and walked to the back door, revealing their silent companion who climbed into the Coyote and tossed a small package to both Tunnel Rat and Duke.

Duke easily caught his but Tunnel Rat’s struck him directly in the face. “Hey, what’s the big idea?!” he huffed looking down at the small packet now resting in his lap. “Extra minty gum? You trying to tell me something Snakes?”

Snake Eyes gently shook his head and moved his hand to rest on his stomach, waiting for Shana to translate. “It’s to help with car sickness. Mint naturally helps with nausea.”

“Oh.” Tunnel Rat flushed slightly, embarrassed at his outburst. “Thanks.” Snake Eyes merely turned away from him, straightened his back, and resumed his meditation that had been interrupted before their quick rest stop.

Duke looked down at the small blister-care package in his own hands. Duke had been running from Flint a few days ago when he had to tread through some water that left his boots soaked for hours, causing a few blisters to flare up. He hadn’t told the team, figuring he could muster through it on his own. Snake Eyes must’ve noticed the difference in his walking since the incident.

Duke looked to Scarlett silently asking  _ how _ , to which she merely smirked, put the Coyote in drive and continued on their way.

______________

He was laying on one of the benches in the Coyote, plantain leaf tucked under his tongue, with a pounding headache and screaming muscles. Duke walked over to him, holding out a commlink.

“I’d appreciate if you’d carry one of these.” Snake Eyes had purposefully avoided taking any sort of commlink to the fight. Stormshadow, Jinx and his failures were his own to deal with, the Joes had enough problems on their own without Snake Eyes dragging them into his too.

Snake Eyes lifted a tired hand and took the commlink.  _ It couldn’t hurt. It’s just to keep tabs on everyone. _ Duke nodded with a satisfied smile on his face and sat back at the front of the Coyote as Roadblock loudly announced something to Tunnel Rat, but Snake Eyes was already lost to visions of his past.

Snake Eyes continued to lay there as his memories swam in his mind. His greatest failure brought to light once again, facing his demons and putting Shana and the rest in danger because of his inadequacies. His eyes scrunched closed behind his mask, trying to will away the reminder of all he was not.

He could hear Shana cough and wheeze slightly. He shook himself out of his self-pity.  _ It doesn’t matter, I’m not important. Stay focused on the mission. _ He berated himself as he shakily got to his feet, bracing himself as he stumbled to where Shana was seated and placed a gentle hand on her shoulder.

She jumped slightly at the unexpected contact, then immediately scolded him with a raspy voice. “Snake Eyes, what do you think you’re doing.” 

He slowly knelt beside her and examined her face intensely, hand gently squeezing her shoulder. She stared back at him, eyes softening slightly.

[Are you okay?] He signed weakly.

Her eyes crinkled in concern. “I should be asking you that.” her voice still hoarse from the poison darts.

[I’m sorry.] He signed again, taking time to look around at the rest of the Joes before resting his gaze at the floor. The corner of his mouth barely visible in the tear of his mask showing the slight frown he bore. Shana quietly slipped her hand over the one resting on her shoulder, forcing him to meet her eyes once more.

“Hey, don’t blame yourself for this.” She reassured him. 

He softly shook his head. [You never should have gotten mixed up in all this. It was not your battle. Tell them not to put their lives in danger like that again, please, Shana]. He signed emphatically.

Duke stared at the pair, communicating silently beside him. “What’s he saying?”

“I’m not translating that. If you’re going to act all self-sacrificing, you’ll have to tell them yourself.” Shana stared him down with a frown, causing Snake Eyes’ shoulders to slump ever so slightly.

He reached into one his pockets and produced a small notepad and a pencil, scribbled something quickly and handed the torn paper to Duke. He stumbled back to the makeshift bed in the back of the Coyote and laid back down.

The blonde studied the note for a while, utter confusion on his features.  _ I’m sorry. Thank you. _ Tunnel Rat turned to face Duke and Scarlett following the prolonged silence who wordlessly handed him the note.

Tunnel Rat read the note a couple times before looking back at Scarlett. She rolled her eyes in a silent exasperated sigh.

__________

The Coyote was parked in a small clearing near and river. They had been staying out of even the small cities after the few close calls with both Flint and Cobra a few weeks ago. Plus, they needed to regroup and figure out a plan of how to track down this “Patient X”.

Snake Eyes had been away on solo missions for the past week, leaving an odd silent hole in the team. For a man who didn’t say anything, he sure seemed to have a big presence with the Joes.

Suddenly, the black-clad ninja dropped from a tree above, startling the group. Shana was the only one not surprised, she turned around and greeted him with a smile.

“Welcome back. Have a nice vacation?” She teased, hip cocked to the side with her hand resting on it. He smirked behind his mask and rolled his eyes, knowing no one could really see it, but Shana knew his tells well enough to notice. 

He nodded at the rest of the Joes looking at him then strode up to Shana and handed her a map with a single address circled and 2 numbers scribbled beside it.

[Think it’s safe to go back into town?] he signed.

She hummed to herself before addressing the rest of the team. “What do you guys think? Safe to go back to civilization? At least for a night.”

Tunnel Rat nearly leaped from the log he was laying against. “Yes please! I don’t do good with wide open spaces and I could really go for a bed that’s not owned by a mind-controlling cult.” 

“It’s pretty risky, but Cobra has been quiet lately and Flint doesn’t seem to be in the same state. I think we could risk it. Why?” Duke turned to Scarlett.

“Is this why you slithered off this past week?” Shana turned to Snake Eyes with a knowing look in her bright green eyes. Snake Eyes shrugged his shoulders coyly and crossed his arms over his chest, signifying the conversation over.

Tunnel Rat walked over to the ninja. “It’s like Christmas, you should’ve told us ninja man was Old Saint Nick!” Nicky teasingly punched Snake’s shoulder. The ninja moved his head slightly to the side, seeming to glare at his smaller teammate. Tunnel Rat raised his hands in surrender and chuckled lightly as he backed away. Roadblock let out a large belly laugh watching the pair.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not as happy with this chapter, but I wanted something softer. Will probably still add another chapter, develop more into Snake Eyes and Scarlett relationship going forward, but I just wanted some soft team bonding moments first.

It was already dark by the time they pulled into the small motel parking lot, Coyote’s holographic mode activated to try and better blend in. They had two rooms to split amongst the five of them. After much bickering, they decided that Duke and Tunnel Rat would share one room, while Roadblock, Scarlett and Snake Eyes would share the other. It was only for one night so they tried to make the most out of the opportunity. 

Tunnel Rat immediately stripped to his boxers and did a running jump into the freezing pool.

“Ugh, when was that pool last cleaned?” Scarlett sneered.

“Probably the same time Tunnel Rat last had a shower.” Duke teased, causing Nicky to scowl and attempt to splash water onto his team leader. “Hey, rules say no splashing.” Duke pointed to a peeling wood sign hanging near the entrance to the open pool. “Besides, the point is to not be loud and draw attention to ourselves.” Tunnel Rat groaned but made no move to exit the pool, opting to instead swim laps as Duke walked back to unpack their few things from the Coyote.

Snake Eyes was standing off to the side of one of the rooms, arms crossed on his chest, relaxing. Or at least what Duke assumed to be his “relaxed” posture. Snake Eyes’ head swiveled as he watched Scarlett stride past him into the room.

“I get dibs on the shower first.” Snake Eyes didn’t take his eyes off her until the bathroom door closed with an audible click of the lock. 

“So…” Duke approached the silent ninja, Snake turned to face him. “Wasn’t really much of a debate when Scarlett said you would bunk with her, huh?” He teased.

Snake Eyes didn’t move, staring Duke down. Duke refused to budge as well, but knew it wouldn’t be long until he cracked.

Tunnel Rat approached the pair, dripping water in his wake. “Wow, some first class tension we got going on here. Cut through that with a knife.” He abruptly shook his head like a dog, spraying both with water.

“Ugh, enough. We all need the shut eye. And Tunnel Rat, no more pool time.” Duke huffed as he walked into his shared room.

“Did you get grounded too, Snakes?” T-Rat teased. Snake Eyes just rolled his eyes behind his mask and entered the motel room, locking it securely behind him.

______________

The dead of night is when he best worked, it was also when he felt most at ease. Hidden within the shadows with everything draped in moonlight. Silently, he rose from the chair that he claimed as his bed for the night after arguing with Shana that  _ he’s slept in worse places and didn’t need a bed _ , much to her chagrin.

Reassuring himself that Roadblock was indeed fast asleep, he crept over to the side of Shana’s bed, placing a gentle hand on her exposed arm before pulling the covers over her and slipping outside.

He climbed up and sat down on the roof of the Coyote, looking up at the night sky, taking in the sounds of the world around him. With a steadying breath, he removed his visor and gingerly placed it beside him. He could feel the cool breeze against the small portion of uncovered, scarred skin and laid down with his arms folded behind his head with a heavy sigh as he watched the moon drift across the sky.

He closed his eyes as he allowed the rare peace to flood his body when the sound of someone climbing the Coyote startled him and caused him to sit up abruptly. Although his back was towards the intruder, he could tell that it was Duke.

“Hey, Scarlett told me you left the room, I came to check on you.” Duke stayed his distance, not quite climbing all the way onto the roof. Duke watched as the ninja silently moved to pick something up laying next to him. It glinted as he raised it in the moonlight. Duke’s breath hitched as he realized what exactly he had stumbled upon.

Once his mask was firmly back in place, Snake Eyes turned to face the leader of the Joes. He continued to stare at Duke trying to determine the man’s intentions, before shifting over and making enough room for Duke to join him on his perch.

“Thanks.” Duke clambered onto the roof and sat beside Snake Eyes, keeping a respectable distance between them, his feet dangling off the edge. Snake Eyes watched him get settled before returning his gaze to the blackened sky.

Duke shifted his gaze to look at the stars before looking back at his silent companion, who remained as much a mystery to the leader as the elusive Cobra Commander.

“So...couldn’t sleep?” Duke questioned, attempting to break the unsettling tension between the two. Snake Eyes, as expected, didn’t respond; only exhaled softly and dropped his gaze down to his lap.

Snake Eyes knew the blonde meant well, he was just trying to make sure his “team” was okay, which was a false errand.  _ I’m not a part of the team. I’m not a Joe, I’m an asset. Why is he checking on me?  _

“I couldn’t get a wink. Even when we’re not all crammed into the Coyote, Tunnel Rat’s snoring is unbearable.” Duke chuckled softly. Snake Eyes turned towards Duke, watching him curiously. “It’s nice out here. Quiet.”   
  
Snake Eyes gave him a soft nod in response which caused Duke to smirk slightly in success.

“The cool air and the background noise is a nice distraction too, from everything up here.” Duke smiled softly as he tapped the side of his head.

Snake Eyes tilted his head in question as he mimicked Duke’s movement.

“Nightmares. Ya know, stress.” Duke shrugged. “It’s not too bad though. Especially when you’ve got a team behind you.”

Snake Eyes nodded.

“It’s okay to ask for help, you know.” Snake Eyes turned his gaze away, staring down the road leading to their motel. Duke sighed. “I know ninjas are supposed to be all mysterious and self-sufficient, just know that you don’t always have to just rely on yourself. You’ve got a team now, whether you like or not. You’re a Joe.”

Duke clapped a hand on the ninja’s back before he jumped down from the Coyote. “Try and get some sleep, yeah?” He started to walk towards the motel room before stopping and looking back at the silent ninja, still perched on top of the truck. “And thanks...for setting this up for us.” Duke smiled then disappeared into his room.

Snake Eyes sat there for a moment, still digesting what Duke had said.

_ Am I a Joe? _ He gazed up at the inky sky, leaning back and propping himself up on his hand. He gently removed his visor and placed it in his lap. He closed his eyes, relishing in the breeze and sounds that engulfed him. 

He turned his gaze towards the darkened motel room where Shana and Roadblock slept then down to the visor sitting in his lap.

_ I don’t think I’m a Joe.  _ He thought to himself as he replaced the visor to his mask before jumping down from his perch and slipped into the motel room, gingerly closing the door behind him.

Roadblock remained fast asleep on the bed, but Shana stirred slightly at his entrance. He had been silent, but he had taught his student well so of course she was alerted by his presence. She reached out her arm from under the covers, beckoning him towards her.

“Everything okay?” She mumbled sleepily, causing a familiar fondness to flood his insides. He gently slipped his hand in hers and gave a soft squeeze in reassurance. Shana hummed contentedly before sinking under the covers and drifting back to sleep.

Snake Eyes resumed his position on the chair and attempted to relax into the stiff cushions.

_ I’m not a Joe. But maybe...I could be. _


End file.
